Before I post this to the ideas board, I wanted to get some feedback from the crafting community. As we advance in level and ability from Novice to Champion I believe we should gain or attain increased abilities.
What do I mean? Consider this…
In the real world as you grow in experience you naturally improve your abilities. These improvements come in the forms of efficiency, higher quality of product and numerous other items. But within the game as you grow we simply gain rank and are able to craft harder more complex items. But should not as we gain rank and perform have items that are simpler also become more efficiently and with better results? In Wizard101 the items we craft are designed so they do not change stats or anything, but we should still be able to improve our ability in some fashion. For that reason, I am proposing the following idea.
As you improve your level moving from Novice to Apprentice and onto the higher levels we should see items like cold down times reduce maybe 10% of the cool down time for each level above the required level to make the item. Hence if we only need to be a Novice Crafter to make the items and we are a Master Artisan we would get a 40% reduction in cool down time to use the crafting slot again. This would mean a maximum reduction for a Novice item of 90% when you attain Champion Crafter.
Now once we attain Mater Artisan from Balthazar Dragonthorn we could start seeing other rewards. These rewards would come in the form of either a reduction in material required for lower level items or a chance for some regents to be returned to us. These would be the most logical form of reward, but others ideas could include a x% (lets say 5 for the following piece of the discussion) opportunity for a second item to appear in the backpack.
Starting with Grandmaster Artisan we could have a 5% chance and at Champion Crafter a 25% for items that are Master and below. Now I am not saying it has to be limited to Master and below, we could go all the way to Champion, but logically we would not want a 1 in 4 chance for a Champion item from a game balance mindset. But still the idea would provide for growth and consideration of crafting as more than simply side quests and related experiences.
Think of these rewards and bonuses like the return of regents and odds of getting a second copy of the item sort of like our luck stats for fishing, when you consider we do not gain experience directly for crafting, but simply complete a few tasks and are awarded the next level. Where we do have to gain experience to level both fishing and gardening.
I understand what you mean and the idea is quite interesting. Yet, the first one just doesn't seem likely logically speaking. A few months ago, Kingsisle gave us the perk of gaining crafting slots as we grow in level in crafting badges. That in itself was a HUGE reward considering the Zafaria crafting quest for the spirit drums. (We all remember that one before it was made easier ) Reducing cool down times would first affect the balance between members and regular players AND it could hinder future game developments.
Let me explain,
Member's cool down timers are already HALF of non-members. Now imagine someone reaching to the point of champion crafter with, according to your numbers, 90% reduced cooling time...and then they cancel their membership. In essence, these people would technically be reaping the benefits of their now-expired membership. They are still receiving the benefits of the 90% cooldown, without being a member. Let's just say, we modify your statement and give non-members 90% off the regular cooldown (meaning an hour wait time would become 6 minutes) and give members half of that of that 10% that remains (meaning an hour for them would be...3 mins!) This leads into my next point
This would literally break the game at some point. Wizard101 has been going strong since 2008. I have some theories about new story arcs (if someone wants to hear, then tell me). Main point being that this game will be along for a while. Till when will you keep adding benefits, with your rate of math, one day at some level the cool down timer will be like 1% of the original time. Which I don't see as being fair.
The other ideas you spoke of, like getting reagents back or a percent chance of another item...seem interesting. If you want, I can analyze them and try to see if those ideas would work with gameplay and fairness. BUT GOOD JOB nonetheless for voicing your ideas, kudos for that!
I appreciate your comments and feedback. The math is critical and you are correct if we look at the Subscriber versus F-t-P account. As I said they are only ideas and I want input and comments. I would love to hear your thoughts on the other concepts. Nothing is ever set to stone that is why we have discussions.
) Reducing cool down times would first affect the balance between members and regular players AND it could hinder future game developments.